Everton touted for relegation by Martin Samuel after Liverpool defeat
Everton have been tipped for relegation by journalist Martin Samuel following their 4-1 loss to Liverpool on Wednesday night (1 December).
The Toffees suffered their biggest derby defeat at Goodison Park since 1982, leading to fans turning on Rafa Benitez, the players and the club’s board.
After 14 games of the Premier League season, Everton sit 14th in the table with 15 points, five above the relegation zone.
Writing in his latest column for the Daily Mail, Samuel expressed fears that a toxic atmosphere at Goodison Park could plunge the club into deep trouble.
“Only one conclusion can be drawn from this: Everton could go down. They really could,” he said.
“The five-point gap to the bottom three is nothing with 24 games to go, particularly as Burnley could win a home game in hand against Tottenham and make it two.
“And the mood at Goodison Park would have been instantly recognisable to followers of West Ham or Newcastle. It is one that can drag a club down. Not all the way to the Championship maybe, but near enough.
“Evertonians now have a path to choose. It is not their fault that so much money has been wasted. Their frustration is understood. Yet the scenes at the end of the Merseyside derby were at best unhelpful, at worst potentially ruinous.”
Worrying decline
Evertonians are certainly looking down the league table rather than up following a worrying recent run of results.
With games against Arsenal, Chelsea and Leicester City to come before Christmas, they could continue to slide and be dragged into a relegation battle.
There would then be huge pressure on fixtures against Burnley (26 December) and Newcastle United (30 December).
However, it seems strange that Samuel has chosen to target supporters for the club’s poor form, when he should be paying more attention to the players on the pitch and the man in the dugout.
Everton fans have every right to vent their frustrations, otherwise nothing will change at Goodison Park and they really could be dragged into the bottom three.
Rafa Benitez appears to have reached a point of no return with supporters, but the club’s board seem to be keeping faith with him for now.
If that is the case then the derby defeat to Liverpool has to represent a nadir; the Toffees cannot afford for it to get any worse than this.
In other Everton news, one pundit has suggested a current Premier League manager as a replacement for Rafa Benitez.
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